Jigiau Penblwydd Roxy / Roxy's Birthday Jigs

Adar Man Y Mynydd / Little Birds Of The Mountain

Tale Of Two Dragons

Calan, the Welsh band that have been admired for their healthy acoustic folk-pop and brashness of youth, release their fourth album - Solomon.  Influenced by the stories and legends of Wales they mix traditional folk with bumping beats and pounding rhythms.  They blast their way through the night playing harp, guitar, accordion and fiddles blending them with modern beat cultures. Their game is experimentation where the music of their ancestors sounds more like a night club sound track where you can jump, dance, and spill your pint, unknowingly raving to tunes that are over 200 years old and sometimes played on the pibgorn; a musical instrument made from a wooden pipe and the horns of a bull.
The album opens with Kân, a song that features the crazy and strange native harmony called canu pwnc - a hybrid between singing and chanting once used to recite psalms in chapels in Pembrokshire.  Yet, 30 seconds later the track breaks into a bi-lingual rap with a hypnotic Hip-Hop beat that you suspiciously think could become addictive. However, Calan still pay homage to the music of their ancestors, and sometimes remember to play things straight and true…  Then the beat and bass kicks in and it’s back to normal.
In their latest single and video, Apparition, they bring to life the story of the bizarre works of the Rev. Edmund Jones, a soothsayer living in Wales during the 18th century who believed strongly in the Tylwyth Teg (the Welsh word for fairies). Jones collected and recorded local people’s experiences of the supernatural, which were strongly believed in those days. With the arrival of the coal mines and ironworks it is said the Tylwyth Teg vanished due to their aversion to iron and metal of any kind. Calan bring this story to life in a scrap yard with blazing fiddles, industrial percussion and contemporary dancers. 
‘Solomon’, the title track, is a tale of a man who cannot find a wife and wishes he had the wisdom of Solomon – these being the times before Tinder! The band also tell the age old story of love lost in Pe Cawn i Hon (If She Were Mine), but the tale is told using a Fender Stratocaster powered by a 1960s vintage amp. The track they call The Big D opens with a modern clog dance based on traditional Welsh steps from champion dancer Beth, accompanied by assorted pots and pans and Patrick’s sized 15 boots.  
The music is steeped in history, and comes from the rich tapestry of Welsh traditions. Calan can tell you about the Welsh bagpipes and their place in Celtic culture… but the band like them simply because they are f***ing loud.

Dennis Polca!

Synnwyr Solomon / Solomon's Wisdom

Pe Cawn I Hon / If She Were Mine

Madame Fromage

Apparition

DeportationSelfie

Kân

 "Folk just got a kick up of the Noughties... stunning
 use of instrumentation, gorgeously crafted songs,
sprightly foot-tappers, verve and raw excitement."   Belfast Telegaph

Kân

CALAN

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Owain Scrivens

Pop Cymru

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